S.S. United States Saved From the Scrap Yard

7/1/2010 12:01AM

The S.S. United States has been rusting at a dock in Philadelphia for years and was headed for the scrap heap. Now a preservation group has an agreement to buy the world's fastest ocean liner. WSJ's Jesse Pesta reports.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... oil ... and when you ... champagne in late ... medieval own stocks and ten and all ... lenders testing ... for sure ... she was and still is the fastest ocean liner in the world ... for much of the mid twentieth century the SS United States very travelers across the Atlantic ... European royalty ... Hollywood royalty American presidents ... BA's with the luxurious ship is counted among the engineering marvels of the day ... in nineteen forty ... he owes the world were to ship was designed to get comfortable chips ... and that are seeking substantial government subsidy for that purpose ... the top secret vessel ... the whole state with classified ... as a ... combination of an ... elegant luxury liner and ... called for a weapon ... three years hardly anyone but as caretakers of what these empty desks ... I've been on the hit ... by myself ... as it was getting dark have been there ... the doctor and I have ... to say ... there's a lot of history and a lot of things that are mine ... wandering home with her on her along ... years ago to cruise operator MCO Group abandon a plan to re shoot the for modern service ... it's been resting appear in Philadelphia percent ... that could soon change ... now we don't know ... and that's a pretty eye opening experience for us ... because now we're in a position to broker with a variety of potential partners ... to figure out the best way to re purpose it ... will ... increase the most benefit ... to McSweeney and a dedicated group of preservation its recently signed an agreement to buy the sixty year-old ... Titanic sized ship ... the new owners hope to find a developer will renovate and fill it with life again ... Waitara canary ... Pigeon booms and the death sentence ... she's really ... by pushing the word delay did ... you know there may be a stay of execution at hand ... they have their work cut out for them ... the ship was stripped of the steel years ago when hasn't moved under its own steam for decades ... the massive twin funnels ones red ones aluminum ghostly pale and healing ... this week amid Sentry interior is an industrial ruin ... but these bare walls go with memories ... Joe Rosen was the ship's harder for Sentry go back and glory days ... it was a gentleman sitting ... right here there was a table near the spot ... and ... here was that was up till the love seat lounge and it was a gentleman sitting nearby itself as soon as he spoke ... to recognize the action ... and ... and then abandoned it hit me when was it was Prince Rainier ... he was on his way we were going ... westbound ... against two ... he was going to meet with that with Grace Kelly Johnson ... we are lovely Chad ... told me about Monaco him ... and his kingdom ... some of the preservation is in the personal ties to show ... my grandfather William Francis Kiddies designed the SS United States when he was a tiny boy he had ... a dream of designing the fastest ship in the world ... it is definitely a situation of making a lifelong dream coming true ... in this this majestic unifying ... glorious simple but I feel it does represent art our nation at her best ... so to ... share data and to him and that it somewhere and open it up so that ... little kids can can come on board and the National ... Estate imagined him blasting across the ocean breakneck speed ... and the images just appreciating whether the transaction knew it was JFE's ... the Wall Street Journal ... this is just a constant aboard the SS United States in Philadelphia ... the ... I'm ...